The Best Golf Courses I Played in 2024

The par four fourteenth at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, AZ.

(Author's note: These courses are all new to me, and I have intentionally excluded any courses I've played in the past.)

Honorable mention:

Blue Top Ridge Golf and Resort, Riverside, Iowa

Verrado (Founder’s), Buckeye, Arizona

Chariot Run, Laconia, Indiana

10. Spirit Hollow, Burlington, Iowa

After commencing with back-to-back beauties, Spirit Hollow fails to fully capture your attention until the par four ninth. From there you are treated to an awesome stretch of golf, notably the par four fourteenth and the signature par three fifteenth, a forced carry to a green surrounded by a trio of bunkers, golden fescue, and a rock wall cropping. The downhill par five eighteenth, a dogleg right, is a beautiful way to end your round and a potential scoring opportunity. Side note: I played behind and spoke to at length a pair of brothers from the area, the older of whom is a Division I golfer and the younger well on his way. The game of golf and the spirit of sportsmanship are in good hands if these two are the future. Back to Spirit Hollow—there’s a reason many publications hail it the best public golf course in Iowa. It’s certainly my favorite.

9. Elkhorn Ridge, Spearfish, South Dakota

While we’re on the subject of favorite public golf courses in a particular state, Elkhorn Ridge is my selection for South Dakota. While visiting my wife’s family in the Black Hills, her cousin and I made a point to get out and play. The course is excellently anchored into mountainous terrain along Interstate 90. The first and last holes are the least interesting, but that makes sense considering the clubhouse is situated at the low elevation point. If ever there becomes a list of best golf holes in the Keystone State, I nominate the par five twelfth to be at the top. Polo Creek cuts across the hole right to left, and back left to right again. There are two fairways to choose from, and a rock wall to the left side of the green. The twelfth is the type of golf hole you need to see to believe. Some of my other favorites are the 536-yard par five fifth, with its elk footprint shaped bunkers, and the par three thirteenth, with its red-orange canyon backdrop. Elkhorn Ridge is the definition of a “hidden gem”, although publications like Golf Digest, who named it third best in South Dakota after Sutton Bay and Minnehaha, are beginning to catch on.

8. Park Mammoth, Park City, Kentucky

Park Mammoth’s website notes this is a place “where traditional golf meets new age design”. Boy, could that assessment not be more spot on. The golf course plays a mere 6215 yards from the tips, ironic given its name suggests the track is lengthy. It hosts a litany of great holes, perhaps none more encapsulating the Park Mammoth experience like the par four, 394-yard opener. The tee shot goes down the hill and back up to a green that slopes forward to a false front. If not instructed properly, I could see how the golfer might have a hard time around the routing on the first try. Look at the second and fifth tee shots, and you’ll see what I mean. Nevertheless, Park Mammoth was perhaps the greatest thirty-five-dollar round of golf in my life, and that’s saying something.

7. Cragun’s Lehman Legacy, Brainerd, Minnesota

When planning my family’s annual golf tournament up north, I read up on Tom Lehman’s new design at Cragun’s Resort. It seemed to fit in with the popular woodlands golf of central Minnesota. The course is defined by its gargantuan fairways, wild undulations, and lush evergreen skylines. I love the rugged, natural look, and this layout will do nothing but grow into its land as the years go by. The par five second, playing a whopping 618 yards from the tips, is the first of many fantastic holes at Lehman’s layout, sporting a Stephens Lake backdrop you won’t forget. There are so many jaw dropping vistas here that I can’t explain which is the coolest. I could hear convincing arguments from the second green, the eleventh tee, the twelfth tee, and the sixteenth tee. A few holes have ludicrous green complexes you can’t possibly prepare for the first time you play, none more so than the par five thirteenth. The 7500-yard layout is a sight to behold, and maybe the third best golf course in the Brainerd Lakes area after The Classic at Madden’s and Deacon’s Lodge.

6. Deacon’s Lodge, Breezy Point, Minnesota

Deacon’s Lodge has always been highly lauded, and since I had the opportunity to plan the family golf tournament this year, I made sure to include the Arnold Palmer design on the itinerary. I’m glad I did. Deacon’s Lodge is secluded, stunning, and a blast to play. The heavily wooded course needs to be played more than one time, however, as a lot of bounces are unpredictable your first go around. I hit a fading right-to-left bomb on the 310-yard tenth to what I thought was a perfect position. Between my dad, uncle, cousin, and I, no one could manage to find a ball that should have been perched next to the green. Some of my favorite holes on the course include the par four seventh, the incredible downhill par four twelfth—one of the only holes on planet Earth I’ve talked myself into a risky shot because the outcome of driving the green would “look cool”—and the beautiful par three seventeenth. The penultimate offering, with its lake backdrop, is one of the signature holes of Minnesota. I’ve teed it up at many Arnold Palmer golf courses, and Deacon’s Lodge is my favorite of the bunch.

5. SouthShore, Henderson, Nevada

A “babymoon”, which is what us millennials allegedly call a vacation between spouses preceding the birth of a child, brought my wife, unborn son, and I to Vegas this March. We played a round at SouthShore Country Club, a Jack Nicklaus design in the affluent Lake Las Vegas area. The front nine is a worthy experience, but the back nine takes the golf course to a different level. The fourteenth is a gorgeous downhill par three over a pond with two of the most penal bunkers you’ll encounter. I learned this fact the hard way, striking my ball in the back bunker and flipping one back over the hole and into the water for a double bogey. A sign just before the fifteenth tee alerts you the final four are among the most scenic Jack Nicklaus holes in the world. Boy, are they right. The fifteenth is an uphill dogleg left par four with a postcard backdrop dotted by dozens of palm trees, an active waterfall, and the overarching mountains. The sixteenth is a beautiful 205-yard par three, all carry over a dramatic desert canyon. The last two are par fours cut along a daunting mountain on the right. Views of the Lake Las Vegas area are awesome during the closing stretch. There are many homes on the golf course, which can sometimes take away from the experience. I will say it is fun to hear the members utter things like, “There’s Celine Dion’s house”, or “that one just went on the market for eight million”. We were so lucky to have played here with a wonderful host. Anyone would be lucky to call SouthShore their home club.

4. Mossy Oak, West Point, Mississippi

I had wanted to play Mossy Oak, a staple of Golf Digest’s Top 100 public, for years, and when I got an opportunity this summer I pounced. The Gil Hanse design lived up to the hype and would be an amazing destination buddies’ trip. Mossy Oak sports big fairways, ninety-four bunkers, undulating greens, and a ton of prairie fescue. The rough collection areas are smaller than most courses, but the thick stuff wasn’t overly penal during my round. I loved the look of the property being framed by tall trees and basically cut in the shape of a rectangle. My favorite holes were the par four third and the par five seventeenth. There is an illusion from the tee the third is extremely gettable, but ending up in the surrounding bunkers or tumbling down the false front is far more likely an outcome than attempting an eagle putt. The second-to-last hole is reachable and sports a bunker on the left that is at least three times the size of the green it guards. Thirty thousand square feet of orange-brown sand lies ahead of your approach. The trap is visible from half the property and haunts you from the moment—oftentimes before the round—you see it. I’m going to nitpick a bit here, but Mossy Oak, in eliminating trees, has a bit of a variety issue. Also, there is a confusing moment on the fourth tee box in which the golfer might not have a clue where they should aim their tee shot. That being said, a round here is a treat and the look and feel provide a stark contrast to the average round in the American South. Mossy Oak rules.

3. The Red Course at The Loop, Roscommon, Michigan

The Red course at The Loop is a reversible routing, one that can be played one direction one day and the opposite the next. The pro shop attendant directed me to play counterclockwise on the first tee, and that if I ignored the advice I’d smash a ball at incoming golfers. Hence, I understood the routing of The Loop. Soon after a glance off the first tee, I understood what he meant and poked my drive down the hill of the short par-four first. There are several quirky aspects of The Loop. For one, holes aren’t marked by signs but instead a single six-inch tall flag that directs the golfer to their teeing ground. It took me a hole or two to comprehend this. And although it lies across the street from the property’s original course, Forest Dunes, the two tracks couldn’t be more different. While FD has bentgrass fairways and greens, The Loop is all fescue. Shots bounce differently and it’s a completely different feel. The Loop is also significantly hillier than its sister course. Rugged and bold might be the two best words to describe The Loop. On the Red course, the par threes shine the brightest, most notably holes six and eleven, which couldn’t be any more different. Six is a short, not-so-sweet hole with a massive hill sloping right-to-left and a few daunting bunkers. From the tips, eleven is a 229-yard beast, a forced carry over tall fescue to a green with a massive backstop. The Red is a great golf course with an intriguing concept, and should be treated as one of the crown jewels in a state with so many crown jewels.

2. Troon Country Club, Scottsdale, AZ

Desert golf is often hit and miss for me. Troon Country Club, nestled firmly in the mecca of north Scottsdale, Arizona, is one of those places I am very lucky to have teed it up. Conditions are great, and the layout is very interesting. The Tom Wieskopf design, the first in his decorated career as an architect, sports a stellar back nine and a stretch of four holes, beginning at thirteen, that rank with Arizona’s best. The thirteenth—and the name of the course—is a tip of the cap to Scotland’s very famous and very original postage stamp green. The fourteenth is an excellently designed par four played along the McDowell Mountains over a severe drop littered with saguaros to a protected, fidget-spinner shaped green. The front nine is no slouch, either. The sixth is a 463-yard par four that showcases the entire Phoenix valley as its backdrop. The green slopes severely from back to front, and if the pin is situated in the front of the green you’ll know exactly why it is the first ranked handicap hole. Obviously being situated partially in a housing development, Troon’s visuals are hampered a bit by encroaching homes. Scottsdale is one of the best spots in American golf, and Troon Country Club is a key piece to the puzzle.

1. Forest Dunes, Roscommon, Michigan

The title of best new golf course I played this year goes to Forest Dunes. The course is split into two distinct nines, predictably tagged the forest and the dunes. Tom Weiskopf designed the routing in 2002, and the track is stellar. The color wheel is on full display here, from the lush greenery to the contrasting purple and golden fescues. Forest Dunes’ front nine meanders through tall evergreens and hosts only a few homes, creating an experience of pure Michigan solitude. The back nine runs through natural sand dunes featured heavily on eight holes. The green complexes are riveting, and the speeds felt like an eleven or twelve on the stimpmeter when I teed it up. Conditions scored a perfect ten out of ten. Some might complain about the lack of elevation changes at Forest Dunes. In contrast to The Loop across the street, or even the Bootlegger nine situated just north of the clubhouse, Forest Dunes is virtually flat. I’ve written before at length regarding featureless terrain and how it can affect a course’s memorability. In Forest Dunes’ case, there are a litany of interesting features. Holes six through nine comprise the most appreciable stretch of golf on Forest Dunes’ first half. Six is a 344-yard par four with two fairways. The more aggressive route is right, over a penal bunker, while a layup to the left is less risky off the tee but significantly further away from the back-to-front sloping green. The hole is aptly called “Gamble”. The approach to the 414-yard par four eighth is beautiful, and a preview of what is to come to the north in the sand dunes. The ninth is a par three with a forced carry over water playing toward the gigantic clubhouse. Forest Dunes’ back half is also littered with quality golf holes. The 278-yard seventeenth, named “Wild Dunes”, is a phenomenal drivable par four lined with sand. The green filters to the left and back, and the surface can play a little like a punchbowl on days where the pin is tucked in the corner. The fairway is wide open for those looking to hit 200-yard irons and have a short wedge in. Forest Dunes is full of fun, playable golf holes, and a property I wouldn’t dare missing. There’s a reason it is consistently ranked among the top public golf courses in the United States.